Gospel Hall of Fame Honors Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton photo courtesy of Dolly Records.

Feb. 4, 2009 — She was already a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Now Dolly Parton has officially been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, too.

Dolly joined the institution Monday night during a ceremony at the Richland Country Club in Nashville. The other new members include contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith; "Love Me Like A Rock" contributors the Dixie Hummingbirds; producer Lari Goss, who’s worked with the likes of Glen Campbell and B.J. Thomas; and BET personality Dr. Bobby Jones, who once shared a gospel Grammy with Dolly’s friend Barbara Mandrell.

"When they told me they wanted to put me in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, I said I wasn't really a gospel singer and that other people may deserve it more than me," Dolly told The Tennessean. "I'm going to be doing a gospel album of my own, so I told 'em maybe they'd want to wait ‘til I did that. But they said, 'No, let's do this now and next time you can just get up and sing.'"

Despite her protests, Dolly’s often incorporated spiritual themes and/or imagery in her songs, including "The Seeker," "Coat Of Many Colors," "God Won’t Get You," "Hello God" and "He’s Alive," which she memorably performed on the 1989 Country Music Association Awards backed by a gospel choir.

The Gospel Hall induction was just one of Dolly’s duties Monday. She also performed at the Wildhorse Saloon in a benefit show that included Ronnie Dunn and Kellie Pickler. Her set list at that show, according to Nashville’s WKRN-TV, included "Two Doors Down," "9 To 5" and "Jolene."